Apparatus for the transfer of articles

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for moving glassware through substantially a 90* angle in transferring same from a stationary platform to a moving conveyor. Such apparatus includes an extensible and retractable means operable by a dual-mounted double-acting fluid motor arrangement that is automatically responsive to the orientation of the apparatus, which orientation is controlled through a positive driving linkage with a glassware forming machine.

United States Patent I Parkell APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSFER OF ARTICLES[72] Inventor: Edward F. Parkell, Horseheads, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Dart Industries, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.

[22] Filed: Jan. 6, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 104,357

[52] U.S. Cl 198/24 [51] Int. Cl ..B6Sg 47/00 [58] Field ofSearch..l98/24, 25, 20; 192/150 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,400,802 9/1968 Rowe ..l98/24 3,318,433 5/1967 Rowe ..l98/25 [451 July25, 1972 1,883,164 10/1932 Vassakos ..l92/l50 Primary Examiner-Evon C.Blunk Assistant Examiner-H. S. Lane Attorney-Leigh B. Taylor, Michael L.Dunn, Harold R. Beck and Paul R. Wylie [5 7] ABSTRACT An apparatus formoving glassware through substantially a 90 angle in transferring samefrom a stationary platform to a moving conveyor. Such apparatus includesan extensible and retractable means operable by a dual-mounteddouble-acting fluid motor arrangement that is automatically responsiveto the orientation of the apparatus, which orientation is controlledthrough a positive driving linkage with a glassware forming machine.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented July 25, 1972 3,679,041

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I E F;

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Patented July 25, 1972 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG INVENTOR. [WAAO F P41697611Patented July 25, 1972 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 25, 1972 4Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 7-

INVENTOR [fly/1,90 f. PAPA 11 APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSFER OF ARTICLESThis invention relates to apparatus for handling glassware or the like,and more particularly concerns the moving of newly formed glassware ontoa conveyor for transport to a lehr, storage or some other equipmentstation.

It is the general object of the invention, therefore, to provide amechanism capable of operating in timed relationship with a glasswareforming machine to move one or more articles of newly formed ware from afirst position adjacent the machine to a more remote second position.Normally, such a transfer is from a platform called a deadplate onto acontinuously moving conveyor in substantially aligned or otherwisepredetermined order with every other glassware article that is similarlymoved onto the conveyor.

Typical glassware forming machines are comprised of a plurality ofsections operated by a common drive means and in timed relationship witheach other so that one or more articles are placed on a deadplate intimed sequence and relationship by each respective machine section.These glassware articles are preliminarily cooled on the deadplate andare thereafter transferred from the deadplate to a continuously movingconveyor for transport to the next succeeding treatment station. Tosuccessfully accomplish the transfer mentioned, it is obvious that themechanical means used to move the glassware from each deadplate onto theconveyor should also be similarly operated in timed relationship withtheir associated forming machine sections. In this fashion, one isassured of a steady flow of glassware onto the conveyor in evenly spacedrelationship and withoutjamming.

The prior art apparatus as is described in U. S. Pats. Nos. 3,249,200;3,249,201 and 3,400,802 has until recently fulfilled the needs of anindustry in performing the functions above-described. It should benoted, however, that such constructions and especially the reciprocatinghead mechanism, were subject to an undue amount of wear; that the headof the apparatus could not be easily removed from service withoutdisconnecting various other elements of the apparatus; that the lack ofa positive driving arrangement between the glassware forming machine andthe apparatus on occasion resulted in slippage, failure or both; andthat there was no simple means of changing the amount of oscillatorymotion afforded the head and reciprocating article engaging elements.The present invention alleviates and overcomes these problem areas andprovides a more maintenance-free reliable mechanism for the transfer ofware from a glass-forming machine.

In keeping with the present invention, the automatically operableapparatus of this invention is associated with each glassware formingmachine section and is driven by a drive means common to all suchsections. This apparatus engages the glassware article or articles thathave been deposited on the deadplate and then sweep the articles fromthe deadplate through an arcuate path onto a continuously movingadjacent conveyor at a peripheral speed substantially equal to theconveyor speed. This improved apparatus includes a more durable fluidmotor having dual-mounted double-acting pistoncylinder arrangement whichextend and retract article engaging elements that are positioned on theexposed piston ends. Similarly, the fluid motor and head are mounted foroscillatory movement about a substantially vertically oriented shaft atthe approximate center of gravity of the head and that there is providedat the upper extremity of the shaft a plate clutch and ball detentindexing arrangement between the shaft and head. This placement of theclutch assembly adjacent the head facilitates the easy removal of thehead and fluid motor for either replacement or repair.

The subsidiary driving mechanism operating between the glassware formingmachine drive means and oscillatable head has also been substantiallymodified and improved. Such driving mechanism includes an adjustablepivot lever mounting a cam follower that acts in conjunction with a mainactuating cam on the machine drive means, a toggle link connecting thelever with a crank arm on the vertically oriented shaft, and a returnspring linkage also connected to the crank arm so as to continually biasit and the head to the second noted operating position. The pivot lever,of course, may be easily adjusted to varying lengths and thus, thedegree of oscillation of the head may be controlled. Similarly, thelinks interconnecting the vertically oriented shaft to the machine drivenow assure a positive transfer of motion therebetween. Accordingly, theoverall reliability of the apparatus has been substantially improved.

Other uses and advantages of the invention will become more apparentfrom a reading of the description which proceeds with reference to theaccompanying drawings forming a part thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus provided in accordance withthe present invention showing the head with the fluid motor in aretracted position facing toward the deadplate;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but shows the head with the fluidmotor extended so as to engage the articles of glassware on thedeadplate;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 but shows the head and fluidmotor in the pivoted position facing the adjacent conveyor justsubsequent to moving glassware onto the conveyor;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but shows the head with the fluidmotor retracted but still facing the conveyor;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the apparatus with one part thereofshown in section to reveal certain structural details;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view in cross-section of thehead and fluidmotor disclosing certain of the structural features thereof includingthe clutch mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view ofthe pivot lever which in part connects themachine drive mechanism to the head and fluid motor and initiates theoscillatory motion afforded thereto; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the pivot lever shown in FIG. 7.

The apparatus of this invention is best shown in FIG. 5 and isdesignated by reference numeral 10. As indicated, the apparatus includesan oscillatable head 12 which incorporates a reciprocable dual-mounteddoubleacting fluid motor having cylinders 14 and pistons and piston rods16. The latter mentioned parts may be best seen in FIG. 6. Theoscillatable head 12 is mounted at its approximate center of gravity onthe upper extremity of an elongated, upstanding base 18 that may beconveniently attached to conveyor frame 20. At the lower extremity ofbase 18, the driving mechanism 22 interconnects the glassware formingmachine drive means 24 with the head 12. Such connection to the head iseffected through the vertically oriented shaft 26 which is suitablemounted for rotation in base 18.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, one will readily recognize the extendibleand retractable article engaging elements 28 that are securely yetremovably attached to the exposed outer ends of piston rods 16. TheseFigs. also depict the sequence of operation of the fluid motor as itoscillates with head 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the motor and headin their first position face towards the stationary platform ordeadplate 30, and from there are pivoted to a second position facing theconveyor 32 as is shown in FIGS. 3-5. The conveyor 32 is continuouslymoving in the direction of the arrow and the angular rate of movement ofthe article engaging elements 28 is calculated to be approximately equalto the longitudinal speed of the conveyor as the head 12 moves towardsthe second position mentioned. Actually, the fluid motor and head 12 areoscillated between the aforesaid positions through a substantial angleof approximately The fluid motor is a dual mounted piston and cylinderarrangement, the piston rods 16 of which are hollow. This tends toprovide better support for the cantilevered article engaging elements28, since the bending moment load is better distributed by the dualmounted motor and is minimized by the hollow piston rods. Similarly, thetorsional moment is also substantially reduced and/or betteraccommodated and therefore machine life is substantially extended. Themotor is also preferably pneumatic and, of course, double-acting so thatthe article engaging elements 28 may be extended and retracted simply byapplying fluid pressure to the respective opposite sides of the piston16. The various fluid transmission means for sequentially activating themotor are substantially as are described in US. Pat. No. 3,249,200 andare not further described herein.

The reciprocable article engaging elements 28 on piston rod 16 areadapted to engage one or more articles of glassware such as bottles 34on the deadplate 30 upon the extension thereof and subsequent to thepivotal movement of the head 12 are adapted to retract to the positionshown in FIG. 4. As is also readily apparent from FIGS. l-4, theseelements 28 include interconnected plates oriented at about 90 to oneanother and which thereby form a pocket or corner that will accommodatethe particular glassware being transferred. As the element 28 isextended from the position shown in FIG. I to the position shown in FIG.2 and the head is pivoted toward the conveyor 32, the element will sweepthe articles of glass ware 34 off the deadplate 30 and onto the conveyorby retaining such articles in the element pockets or corners referred toabove. The element is thereafter retracted as is shown in FIG. 4 so thatit will not be in a position to interfere with the movement of otherarticles of glassware on the conveyor or on the deadplate as the head ispivoted back to the position shown in FIG. 1.

It should be understood that the article engaging elements 28 may be ofmany varying forms and sizes to accommodate various types of glassware.Similarly, these elements may be adjustable for the same purpose.

The means for pivoting or oscillating the fluid motor and head 12between its first and second position includes a vertically orientedshaft 26 (FIGS. 5 and 6) which is journaled in the elongated upstandingbase 22. The head 12 is secured to the upper end or extremity of theshaft 26 through a clutch plate 36. Especially with reference to FIG. 6,it will be apparent that the head 12 is positioned on the shaft 26 atits approximate center of gravity. This placement, of course, furtherbalances the overall mechanism and thereby also minimizes wearthroughout the device. The prior art devices were constructed so that anoffset loading resulted in excessive machine wear. Also, as can be seenfrom FIG. 5, the location of the clutch assembly, adjacent to top ofconveyor 32, makes it readily accessible for disassembly in the event ofany malfunction in the apparatus.

The clutch assembly includes a plurality of ball buttons 38 suitablymounted flush with the top surface of clutch plate 36. These buttonseach have a spherical cavity 40 which is adapted to mate with a similarcavity in each of the ball plungers 42 that are threaded into head 12.As is obvious, these mating cavities each retain a suitably shapedbearing element 43 and these function to provide for indexing betweenthe plate 36 and the head 12.

The clutch plate is fixedly attached to shaft 26; however, the head 12is free to rotate with respect thereto. Driving attachment is madebetween the plate and head through a holding means 44 that biases thehead 12 into interfacial relationship with the clutch plate 36. Asindicated above, the relative position between the plate and head isdetermined by the ball detent means described. Such means, however, doesnot effect the driving relationship between the two, thus excessive wearis also reduced here. The holding means 44 includes a shaft 46 that isthreaded into shaft 26 and extends upwardly through, between and abovethe double mounted pistons and cylinders in thehead 12. A suitablespring 48 mounts over the shaft 46 and is compressed against the head I2by locking nut arrangement 50. As can be seen from FIG. 5, this springcompression biases the plate and head together at the interfacetherebetween. It is this interfacial frictional contact that providesthe necessary driving relationship between the head 12 and plate 36. If,however, a glassware jam occurs such that the head is prevented frompivoting properly, the continued rotation of shaft 26 by the drivingmechanism will produce only a slippage between the plate and head andthe elements 43 will be simply cammed out of cavities 40 and up onto thesurface of clutch plate 36. Thus, a relative rotation will occur betweenplate 36 and the head 12 and no undue strain will be placed on thedriving mechanism for the apparatus.

At the lower extremity of shaft 26, there is attached a crank arm 52. Achain and spring return mechanism 54 is attached to arm 52 such that ittends to bias the arm, shaft 26 and head 12 toward and to the positionshown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Similarly, a connecting link 56 is pinned to thearm 52 and to the adjustable pivot lever 58 so that as lever 58oscillates about its pivot point 60, that motion will be translated intothe rotary movement of shaft 26. The oscillation of adjustable pivotlever 58 is controlled by the rotation of drive means 24 which carries acam 62. The cam 62 is constructed and so positioned on drive means 24that it will move cam follower 64 in properly timed relationship withthe production of glass ware in the forming machine and therebyoscillate head 12 accordingly. The cam slopes on cam 62 are designed toprovide a speed of arcuate movement which is coordinated with the linearspeed of the conveyor. Therefore, as mentioned above, the peripheralspeed of the glassware carried by elements 28 is substantially matchedto the speed of the conveyor so as to minimize the possibility oftoppling the glassware articles.

As indicated above, the pivot lever 58 is adjustable and may thereforebe lengthened or shortened to vary the degree of pivotal movementafforded to head 12. FIGS 7 and 8 depict this lever in more detail andas can there be seen, such is of two piece construction and includespivot part 66, which is attached to the conveyor frame 20 at point 60,and adjustable part 68. Part 68 may be extended away from or drawntoward part 66 simply by rotating shouldered bolt 70 out of or into part68. Guide pins 72 are provided to further interconnect the parts and torigidify the overall pivot lever structure.

To reiterate, in operation the article engaging elements 28 are extendedautomatically whenever the head 12 and fluid motor face the deadplate30. After extension, the cam and cam follower mechanism swing the head12 (counterclockwise as viewed in FIGS. l-4) to a position facing theconveyor 32. When the arc of the swing has been completed so that thehead 12 is in the position shown in FIGS. 3, the elements 28 will beautomatically retracted. After such retraction, the head 12 returnsthrough camming action to its first position facing the deadplate 30 andthe apparatus is ready to be recycled through the same sequence ofoperations. As indicated, the reliability of such operation issubstantially improved by the apparatus construction hereinabovedescribed.

I claim:

1. Apparatus adapted for use with a glassware forming machine andwherein said apparatus is provided to move glassware formed by saidmachine away from a first position adjacent thereto to a second positionremoved therefrom and comprising a head oscillatable from said firstposition to said second position, an elongated upstanding base upon theupper extremity of which is mounted a clutch plate to which said head isattached in an interfacial relationship, said plate and head beingattached at a point along their respective longitudinal centerlines andincluding a plurality of mating cavities that accommodate suitablyshaped bearing elements therein to relatively position the plate andhead without re-enforcing said interfacial relationship and which arecapable of relative rotation with respect to one another, holding meansbiasing said head and plate together in said interfacial relationship,drive means for oscillating the head between said first and secondpositions, and dual-mounted double-acting pistons movably mounted withinsaid head for extending and retracting directly attached articleengaging elements which in turn are adapted to abut glassware and sweepsame from said first position to said second position.

2 Apparatus as is described in claim 1 wherein said drive means includesa shaft extending upwardly through said base, means fixedly attachingsaid clutch plate thereto adjacent its uppermost extremity, andadditional means extending through and above said head for attachingsame to said shaft and bias- 5 ing the plate thereagainst and into saidinterfacial relationship.

1. Apparatus adapted for use with a glassware forming machine andwherein said apparatus is provided to move glassware formed by saidmachine away from a first position adjacent thereto to a second positionremoved therefrom and comprising a head oscillatable from said firstposition to said second position, an elongated upstanding base upon theupper extremity of which is mounted a clutch plate to which said head isattached in an interfacial relationship, said plate and head beingattached at a point along their respective longitudinal centerlines andincluding a plurality of mating cavities that accommodate suitablyshaped bearing elements therein to relatively position the plate andhead without re-enforcing said interfacial relationship and which arecapable of relative rotation with respect to one another, holding meansbiasing said head and plate together in said interfacial relationship,drive means for oscillating the head between said first and secondpositions, and dual-mounted double-acting pistons movably mounted withinsaid head for extending and retracting directly attached articleengaging elements which in turn are adapted to abut glassware and sweepsame from said first position to said second position.
 2. Apparatus asis described in claim 1 wherein said drive means includes a shaftextending upwardly through said base, means fixedly attaching saidclutch plate thereto adjacent its uppermost extremity, and additionalmeans extending through and above said head for attaching same to saidshaft and biasing the plate thereagainst and into said interfacialrelationship.